Now here's a little story I've got to tell...

Rewind to 2006. I'm at home in my apt. cleaning guns. I decide to run down the street to the local deli and grab dinner for the kids, (13 and 11 at the time) and I. We return home 15 minutes or so later to the front door open. We leave and park within site of the front door, while I await the arrival of the police. The police arrive, I inform them that were two firearms that were not in the safe, a Kel-Tec p11 9mm, and a Beretta 390 20 ga. semi-auto shotgun. to find that nobody is inside, and I find that my $200 9mm missing, and the $600 shotgun still there.

FF to April of this year. I get a letter from the local PD, it seems they have recovered my gun, and want to return it! Outstanding. I fill out the necessary paperwork and hand deliver it to them. It takes 7 months, but I finally have my concealed carry gun back. It seems it was recovered 2 days after it was stolen, recovered at the building next door. It sat in the property room of the local PD...for 5 years.

So, Hornady TAP, 147 grain? Any reason I shouldn't carry this ammo? Any ammo that might be better for a concealed carry gun?

 

Nope, not used in a crime. They "found" it in the property room during an audit.

 

I'm a bit of a fan of all things Hornady and haven't heard anything bad about TAP ammo. That being said, I prefer my 9mm defensive loads in the 124 gr. range. Its a good compromise between ass and velocity. 115 grains is a touch light, while 147 grains is almost always sub-sonic or very close to it. The general school of thought with handgun loads is that you need to go either light and fast or heavy and slow. If you're going to be shooting a 9mm, you need the speed of a lighter bullet to develop the ft/lbs necessary to be a show-stopper. If you want to go below 1120 fps, shoot something heavy like a 230 gr JHP in 45 ACP.

Just my two cents, your mileage may vary.

 

I concur with Walt. 124 grains is ideal.

Relevant

 

I like the 147gr for full sized 5" barrels. When you start going in to 3" barrels, you want to give up some weight so you can get enough velocity to expand reliably. The 124gr JHP is ideal.

 

Who carries a full size 5" 9mm?
- Most '80s television show cops.
- Victims of the lowest bidder.
- Guys with a Glock 34 fetish.

 

You forgot fat bubbas with enough girth to envelop and conceal their CCW...

 

- People who chop the grips on their XD Tacticals


And yes, I do carry it, and I actually currently run Hornaday 147gr. The PF9 is loaded with 124gr PDX1's or Speer Gold Dots, depending on the magazine...it handles both reliably.

 

I have a coworker who CCWs a M92FS.